It’s not always about money. Well, this surely applies for Kirk Cousins, or else he would have been a Jet, as per a new documentary which is based on the foray of the quarterback in the free agency. The Jets had offered Cousins a guaranteed contract worth $90 million for three years when he was a free agent this offseason; he went on to say in the film. Cousins passed on the contract and chose to sign a deal with the Vikings instead. He signed a three-year deal worth $84 million with the Vikings, which include $28 million as guaranteed amount annually.
Instead of Cousins, the Jets moved ahead to acquire Sam Darnold with the third-overall pick. Darnold is known to be as a heavy favorite to become the starting quarterback of the Jets on September 10 in the season opener held at Detroit.
In the documentary, which is released by the official website of the Vikings, Cousins makes it clear that he had preferred the Vikings, as well as the Cardinals to the Jets and Broncos and the entire Jets offer, is important as it gave his agent the opportunity to get other teams to offer more money. It is pretty obvious that the prospect of signing a deal with the Vikings, who won the NFC North as well as feature one of the best-known defenses, was more attractive when compared to the contract offered by the Jets, who have not reached the playoffs yet since the year 2010.
The Vikings were initially ready to pay the 30-year-old quarterback, who made the Pro Bowl in 2016, just a sum of $25 million annually as guaranteed money, which is a potential sticking point.
“We want the money to be guaranteed. My preference would be to get a fully guaranteed contract or stick to one-year deals,” Cousins is seen telling his wife, Julie in the documentary.
